Mike, what I know about washing machines from personal experience is just about the fairly old Kenmore that I have, but I wouldn't suggest that you give much weight to my limited personal experience(or anybody else's). This is one of the areas where Consumer Reports does a good job with thorough testing and I'd rely on their results rather than anyone's suggestions.

Michael has already pretty much saved you the $20 by listing some of the results from the February issue(which I have). The Frigidaire Gallery washer is the front-loading best buy for around $650. The companion Frigidaire Gallery dryer(GLER104FS)is middling in the ratings, but very good, and at a good price around $400. The GE Profile dryer for around $500 was rated slightly higher.

I just spent an hour in agony on the phone with saleswomen. Nice lady who seams to know "her" machines. The Kenmore Elite 5t is in the lead (she likes it and they have it in stock and I can get 22% off)..... I'll sleep on it some. Damn this is painful. I'm soooooo not interested in appliances. I might just have to go look at new trucks or camera glass to help ease the pain when I'm in the city picking these things up. I’m definitely hitting the wine warehouse.

We have the LG Tromm Steam-wahser and we love it. We've had it for about 2 years now with no problems. I have heard that some people have problems with front-loaders however. The front seal is usally damp and sometimes causes a mildew buildup that can make you clothes funky smelling. We have not had that problem though (we usually leave the front door of the washer cracked open when we are not using it to let it really dry out). Also, the machine tends to spin really high by default to get as much of the water out as possible. Some people complain of vibration or noise during the spin cycle. But, if the washer is on concrete, you will not hear it. Ours is not on the concrete foundation, but the vibration is not that bad.

The energy savings of the front loaders (and water savings) usually pays for itself in 3-4 years (espcially if you have a couple of little ones running around; we do at least one load of laundry a day).

We just bought an LG washer and drier and have been quite happy with them. The washer is crazy quiet while running. The only two things you need to be aware of is don't put in really small loads as it'll get off balance and make one heck of a racket when spinning, and second, don't leave your damp clothes in the washer unattended very long (over a day). The clothes can get musty smelling...I never had that problem with our old washer. ??

don't leave your damp clothes in the washer unattended very long (over a day). The clothes can get musty smelling...

And if you DO do that... the stank gets into the pump and stuff - easiest way to get rid of it is with a hot water wash (empty) with a cup of bleach and a cup of Borax... run it empty and the reek goes away.

I ended up buying the Kenmore units. The Elite 5T washer (without steam) and a 3T dryer with steam. The selling point on the dryer with steam is no need to iron. Bonus!! I hate ironing. The reason I ditched the steam in the washer was that when using that particular cycle, it apparently takes about two hours.

I now know more about washing machines and dryers than I will ever wanted to know.